What effort is the Welsh Government making to provide up-to-date figures on the impact of air pollution on life expectancy?
The most up to date estimates available from the UK Health Security Agency are based on 2019 data . Since COVID-19 caused significant heart and lung disease, as well as affecting travel behaviours on a day-to‐day basis which impacted air quality, it is not possible to provide estimates for 2020 to 2022.
In support of the Environment (Air Quality & Soundscapes)(Wales) Bill, the Welsh Government has commissioned work to better understand the burden and costs of air pollution in Wales and to quantify the benefits associated with modelled scenarios of air pollution reduction. We expect to report on the results of this work in 2024.